Deja Vu

Natsu lay listlessly on the ground at the roller coaster exit, his limbs spread wide in a "big" shape, looking like a fish that had been slapped onto the shore.

The effects of the roller coaster motion were slow to wear off; his chest was still rising and falling slightly, and he occasionally let out a muttered word that was difficult to understand.

Happy, Gray, and Gajeel stood nearby, and their condition wasn't much better.

Happy's fur was wet and clung to his body; his once fluffy fur now looked like a rag soaked in water.

Gray's pants were covered in vomit residue. He glanced down at it, his lips twitching as he decided not to investigate further.

Gajeel stood there expressionless, a few strands of vomit clinging to his hair, radiating a low, unapproachable aura.

The scent emanating from the three formed an invisible barrier, causing tourists to cover their noses and walk around them, and even seagulls wisely avoided this airspace.

Gray lifted his heavy eyelids and caught a familiar figure in his blurry vision.

His eyes lit up instantly, like a drowning person seeing a lifebuoy.

"Juvia! Quick, rinse me off with water!"

Gray reached out his hand, his voice filled with an unprecedented urgency.

Juvia was walking this way with Lucy and Levy when she heard her beloved Gray calling her name.

A bright smile instantly bloomed on her face, and without saying a word, she started running over.

However, she had only run three steps away from Gray when an indescribable smell entered her nostrils.

Her steps came to an abrupt halt as if she had slammed on the brakes, and she stumbled back several steps faster than she had run towards them.

Juvia pinched his nose with one hand and fanned himself with the other, his voice becoming muffled from the pinched nose.

"What's wrong with Lord Gray?"

She endured the smell, stretched out her finger and gently drew a line in the air. A stream of clear water flowed from her fingertip, gently enveloping Gray's entire body and beginning to wash him carefully.

After rinsing Gray, she casually flicked the water aside, also splashing Happy and Gajeel.

Finally, he condensed a water ball the size of a washbasin in his palm, aimed it at Natsu, and smashed it down without mercy.

"Smack!"

The water balloon exploded on Natsu's face, splashing cool water everywhere.

Natsu jolted to his feet, looking around blankly, his face filled with confusion, wondering, "Who am I? Where am I?"

"Ah! What happened? Where am I?"

It seems Natsu has completely lost his memory; the memory of that rainbow feast has been automatically formatted by his brain.

Happy was silent for two seconds, then quietly picked up a fish from behind his back.

Gray and Gajeel exchanged a glance and simultaneously rolled up their sleeves.

The two people and the cat surrounded Natsu and began a brutal beating.

Happy slapped Natsu's face with a fish, sending scales flying.

"Natsu, you've gone too far!"

Gray slammed his ice fist into Natsu's head, his tone full of resentment.

"How can you forget the pain?!"

Gajeel's iron fist landed on Natsu's shoulder.

"Stupid Fire Dragon!"

Natsu crouched on the ground, clutching his head, completely bewildered as to why he had been beaten, and could only let out a series of pitiful wails.

Lucy and Levy stood far upwind, covering their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs, waving and shouting at Juvia.

"Juvia, let's go go rafting!"

Lucy took two steps forward and suddenly smelled a scent wafting over, her brows instantly furrowing into a deep frown.

"Huh? Why are they attacking Natsu? What's that smell? It stinks."

Upon hearing this, Gray and the others spontaneously quickened their movements and fought even more vigorously.

Natsu's wailing rose another octave.

Lucy and Levy grabbed Juvia's arms on either side and dragged her away from the spot like a prisoner.

As Juvia was being dragged away, she glanced back at Gray, her eyes filled with reluctance.

The three arrived at the entrance to the water rafting project and ran into Riyao and his group.

Mirajane spotted them first, raised her hand, and greeted them with a smile.

"Oh, you guys are rafting too!"

Levy proudly raised her chin, put her hands on her hips, and her little face was full of confidence.

"We definitely need to play in the water with Juvia."

Riyao leaned against the raft, a sly smile playing on his lips, and said in a meaningful tone, "So you guys are pretty brave, huh?"

Lucy immediately became alert, stretching out her hands in front of her chest to make a big X, her expression as serious as if she were reading out a law.

"We should play in a civilized manner and not resort to underhanded tactics!"

Riyao plopped down on the raft, letting out a series of eerie, high-pitched laughs, sounding just like a villain plotting a scheme.

Mirajane, expressionless, reached out and precisely pinched Riyao's mouth with two fingers, choking his laughter in his throat.

"Don't laugh so awfully."

Just as Elfman was about to step onto the raft, three people simultaneously reached out and stopped him.

Riyao, Mirajane, and Lisanna all stared at his enormous size, then glanced at the raft's weight limit, and shook their heads in unison.

Elfman opened his mouth, but was ultimately dejected and chased away, standing on the shore waving his fists and shouting with a wronged expression.

"A real man... a real man must ride a raft next time!"

The rules for the rafting activity are simple: scores are based on time, and the total rafting distance is five kilometers.

Lucy and her friends' raft set off together with Riyao and his group.

The two boats were moored side by side at the starting line, and the water surface was rippling.

Both rafts plunged into the water at the same time.

As soon as Juvia entered the water, she began to exert her power. She put her hands under the water's surface, and magic flowed into the water from her fingertips. The entire raft seemed to be pushed from behind by an invisible giant hand, and it shot forward with a whoosh.

Lucy clung tightly to the handrail of the raft, her entire body pressed against the side of the raft by inertia.

"Ahhh... that was too fast!"

Levy's voice was broken by the wind, and she kept her eyes tightly closed, afraid to open them.

"Slow down!"

Juvia stood at the stern, his hands steadily maneuvering the water, a calm smile playing on his lips.

"Don't worry, Juvia won't let you fall."

Their raft was like an airplane flying low over the water, its hull almost leaving the surface, propelled forward by Juvia's skillful manipulation of the water currents.

Water splashed out on both sides of the boat, forming two white hydrofoils.

Riyao was not to be outdone.

[Life Mimicry - Azure Dragon]

In its Azure Dragon Form, Riyao can also control water, propelling the raft forward like an arrow, creating a towering wave.

Both sides were moving at high speeds, but the sounds they produced were completely different.

From Juvia's side came a series of screams and cries of terror, while from Riyao's side came the following:

"Go! Go go go!" Lisanna raised her hands above her head, as excited as a child riding a roller coaster for the first time.

"Hahaha..." Mirajane's laughter was crisp and cheerful, carrying far away on the sea breeze.

In the water ahead, Makarov, Macao, and Wakaba were leisurely floating on the surface.

Makarov lay in the middle of the boat, legs crossed, humming a little tune.

Macao and Wakaba each held a paddle, paddling casually across the water. The whole scene was as peaceful as a retired cadre enjoying a weekend fishing trip.

Then, two rafts, one on the left and one on the right, roared past them with tremendous force.

The three Makarov's raft was caught between two huge waves and spun wildly like socks in a washing machine.

Water splashed down on them, instantly soaking the three of them.

Makarov poked his head out from the spinning boat, waving his fists and roaring.

You bunch of brats!

Macao swallowed several mouthfuls of water and lay on the side of the boat coughing terribly.

"Cough cough cough..."

Makarov snatched the oar, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Let's charge in and teach them a lesson!"

"Old Makarov, Junior Wakaba! Row faster!"

Both sides continued their high-speed chase, increasing their speed by the minute.

Lucy and Levy had given up struggling; they clung to Juvia's waist like koalas, refusing to let go.

Lucy's lips trembled wildly in the wind, emitting a series of incomprehensible tremolos.

"Juvia needs to speed up!"

"Wait..."

Before they could finish speaking, Juvia suddenly increased the pressure with both hands, propelling the raft forward at an even greater speed.

Lucy and Levy's screams were instantly left behind.

Riyao caught a glimpse of Juvia accelerating out of the corner of his eye, and a smile of excitement curved his lips.

With a flick of his wrist, the water current propelled the raft forward, while the dragon tail behind him deftly wrapped around Mirajane and Lisanna's waists, securing them firmly to the raft.

Ahead, the thrilling and challenging Eighteen Bends are approaching.

The waterway narrows abruptly here, with steep rock walls on both sides carving out a winding passage.

One sharp turn after another is closely linked, and the water crashes against the rock walls at the bends, stirring up white waves.

Being fast at cornering is what truly matters.

Riyao's pupils contracted slightly with excitement as his gaze remained fixed on the bend ahead.

Slow down? It's impossible to slow down.

He smirked, slapped his hand hard on the water, and the raft cut into the first bend at an almost impossible angle.

Shrimp Catcher ♫

The water surged and roared around the hull, like a real Azure Dragon leaping and tumbling in the water.

The raft skimmed along the inside of the bend, so close that Lisanna could reach out and touch the moss on the rock face.

The staff on the shore held up binoculars and shouted excitedly into the walkie-talkie.

"One raft went up the mountain... uh, it entered the Eighteen Bends! No, there were two! Both of them went in!"

Mirajane spread his arms wide, letting the wind pass through his fingertips, and shouted happily.

"Faster!"

Lisanna glanced back, her pupils dilating slightly.

"Brother-in-law, they've caught up!"

Juvia's raft was hot on its heels, the entire boat being lifted up by a huge jet of water, carving sharp arcs through the bends.

She seized the opportunity at the last bend, manipulating the water flow to perform an Armstrong Spinning Dash, the raft drawing a graceful arc in the air before landing steadily next to the Riyao Squad.

Both boats moved forward side by side, and their bows touched the finish line almost simultaneously.

Cross the finish line!

The raft slowly came to a stop.

Levy and Lucy tumbled off the boat and lay on the ground trembling like two Canis Minor soaked by the rain, on all fours, their bodies still shaking slightly.

Lucy looked up, her lips pale, and said in a trembling voice.

"I... I never... want to play this again..."

On the other hand, the situation on the Riyao side presents a stark contrast.

Lisanna jumped off the boat, bounced twice on the spot, her face full of unfinished business.

Mirajane gracefully stepped off the raft, smoothed his wind-blown clothes, and a satisfied smile lingered on his lips.

Riyao, with his hands in his pockets, glanced back at the winding, Eighteen Bends waterway, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)

"Should we do it again?"

Upon hearing this, Levy and Lucy simultaneously sprang to their feet and fled the scene at the fastest speed they had ever been.